Delaware's Department of Technology and Information (DTI) -- which manages IT for nearly 65 agencies statewide, the legislative and judicial branches, as well as 19 school districts, 17 charter schools and three higher education institutions -- is using Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite as the foundation for its identity management infrastructure.
DTI has leveraged the application to deploy single sign-on for Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise eBenefits application, allowing employees to log-in more easily -- yet securely -- to access healthcare benefit plans and programs online. The state has also leveraged its identity management infrastructure to offer secure citizen services online.
Prior to implementing Oracle, the state lacked an enterprisewide system to track employee access to sensitive information. Further, employees were required to remember several passwords and provide log-in information multiple times to access personal healthcare benefit information, increasing the chances of forgotten passwords.
With Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite, DTI created a single identity for each user and can more rapidly and automatically provision and deprovision access privileges and requirements.
The new system provides DTI with a centralized and automated system for managing who has access to specific information systems and applications throughout the state's IT infrastructure. As a result, users are able to log into the system once and gain access to a broad range of resources, further improving security and usability. Individual agencies are able to add users, ultimately releasing the departments' IT staff for more critical tasks and improved efficiency.
PeopleSoft Enterprise eBenefits enables state employees to access one page to perform benefits-related transactions, such as processing their annual open enrollment or making changes to personal and dependent data when benefit-related life events occur. By simplifying the application, the state has realized increased user adoption of online benefits administration, which ultimately helps reduce administrative costs.
Delivering Citizen Services While Protecting Personal Data
Delaware is also better equipped to deliver citizen services while helping to protect personal data. For example, the state implemented a free service for trucking companies to file their International Motor Fuel Tax (IFTA) paperwork online. IFTA E-file allows Delaware-based IFTA carriers to quickly and accurately file quarterly IFTA returns online. The application performs all required computations, simplifying filing and virtually eliminating the possibility of mathematical errors, according to Oracle.
IFTA E-file is restricted to authorized users that have a department-supplied password. The application protects taxpayer information via Secured Socket Layer (SSL) encryption.
Delaware state agencies, law enforcement and court officials collaborated with private sector partners to create an application to support the Violence Against Women Act, an aide in the protection of domestic abuse victims. When a domestic abuse victim applies for a protective order, law enforcement and court officials need this information to protect the victim and manage the completion of any court-mandated training.
Previously law enforcement and court officials, as well as the private sector organizations that provide the mandated training, did not have an accurate method for tracking protective orders and related remedial activities. Utilizing Web services and authentication tools available in Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite, the state created a secure application to manage the status of these cases. More than 8,000 private-sector partners and law enforcement and court officials can use the application to view and search abuse cases, track remedial training status and enforce protective orders.
Future for the State of Delaware
DTI plans to roll out additional features of Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite including password recovery and self-registration. The agency also plans to extend single sign-on to the state's other enterprise systems and to create other online citizen services, leveraging Oracle's secure foundation.
The state also plans to implement Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite for Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Pension Administration, which will provide retired state employee pensioners access to their deposit advice from anywhere in the world.
"Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite has allowed us to automate and centralize our application sign-on processes statewide," said Thomas Jarrett, secretary, Delaware Department of Technology and Information, "while enhancing overall security. In just six months, Oracle provided us with a coordinated identity data infrastructure, and we are already reaping the benefits. Our employees and citizens have confidence in our ability to protect their personal data while delivering easy-to-use online tools."
